The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) believes they are wilfully pleading ignorance in a cynical attempt to limit how much they spend dealing with former clients with Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) implants.

Some 1,000 women in Britain, perhaps more, are likely to have experienced ruptured PIP implants. Nobody knows the real number.

Senior members of Baaps, which believe some opertors are giving the industry a bad name, say they have seen a number of cases where women with ruptured PIPs have been turned away by the clinics that implanted them.

Nigel Mercer, its former president, said: "I’ve recently seen a number of patients with lumps in their armpits - in one woman's case, the surgeon directly admitted to her not having the skills to remove them.

"In another instance, the clinic itself told the patient their surgeons weren't competent enough to perform the procedure.

"Either these clinics' practitioners aren’t qualified plastic surgeons as is generally claimed on their websites, which is clearly alarming, or they don’t want to bear the costs of caring for their own patients. Frankly, neither option should be acceptable to the women affected."

Fazel Fatah, the current president, explained that ruptured implants could lead to an inflammatory response, manifesting itself as painful lumps in the chest, under the breast, or in the lymph nodes under the arms.

But he said "any qualified surgeon can easily address these issues" as it was part of "standard training".

He went on: "Although it may be ostensibly reassuring that untrained practitioners aren’t just trying to ‘have a go’ at complex procedures, these actions then beg the question: who are the surgeons performing the implant replacements and what training have they undergone?

"Otherwise, one may be pardoned for assuming that this initiative is purely a cost-containment exercise. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking of."

Since the issue hit the headlines at Christmas, the Department of Health has made it clear women can receive surgery free of charge on the NHS to remove ruptured PIP implants.

However, it is often difficult to diagnose ruptured implants, usually requiring a scan, meaning many have only found out when they have gone back to their clinics with concerns.

Last month Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, said the NHS would also provide removal surgery for women who wanted their unruptured PIPs out, if the implanting clinic had gone bust or was unable to help.

However, he said the Department would vigorously pursue clinics for costs so they could not evade what he described as their "duty of care" to clients.

Sally Taber, director Independent Healthcare Advisory Services said the two surgeons' comments were not justified, because all staff working for private clinics had to be suitably qualified, under regulations enforced by the Care Quality Commission.

She said: "The regulations require that staff, including those with practising privileges, must have the necessary qualifications and experience for the work they perform.

"As well as meeting the necessary criteria to practise, the surgeons who work with our members have many years of experience and most have performed thousands of operations.

"Therefore, there is absolutely no justification for Bapps's remarks about their professional colleagues."